It was revealed last month that Josh Trank (The Fantastic Four) was not going to direct the next Star Wars spin-off following Gareth Edward’s Star Wars: Rogue One. Reports then suggested that Trank had in fact been fired, and it many claimed it was because of “odd” on-set behaviour on The Fantastic Four and even suggestions that his dogs caused over $100,000 worth of damage to the rental home he was staying in during the movie.
Speaking with Hero Complex, Trank has tried to set the record straight, and has said that he wasn’t fired from the job and instead chose to leave.
“I want to do something original after [Fantastic Four] because I’ve been living under public scrutiny, as you’ve seen, for the last four years of my life,” the director said. “And it’s not healthy for me right now in my life. I want to do something that’s below the radar.”
Simon Kinsberg, who some reports have claimed was responsible for getting Trank fired from Star Wars, also jumped to the director’s defense during the interview. “”I’ve been around some version of this for a long time,” he said. “This, I would say, is particularly cruel. I haven’t really seen this level of vehemence against a filmmaker. And it’s surreal and unfair.”
